Title: More Questions Than Answers: Reunions, The Lady in Blue, Part Twenty
One
Location: Unknown
Setting: The Female Prisoner's Holding Room

The Captain gave his beloved, Rolin, Lasara, and himself some water as he
knew this was an important
restorative for some reason unknown to him for the ritual. There was no choice
on the accomplishing the
other steps, including a deep trance like sleep. He could not trust K'Arak
to free them all. He had to get
everyone out of here quickly.

The Captain felt much better after the water, just as he did the last time,
and went over to Cadet Sarie. He
unlocked her restraints as well.

"Take your medical kit, a blanket, the utensils, and the water. Get ready
to run, " he said to the Cadet.

"Aye, sir," she replied.

"Which way Empress? Can you feel where they are to keep us on an isolated
path? Nouri asked.

"To the right... Yes, if there are empty tunnels that connect. The path I
figured out is several miles from
here to the surface. I will keep the bond/link open on this for you so that
you may see the path as it exists
in my mind, " she said, as she started to lie back down.

"Sarie, how long can the Empress travel in her condition?" Captain Kematsopoulos
asked.

"Not that long Captain. Before this 'stunt' she just pulled, I would have
said that she might be able to walk
several hundred feet. I gave her the strongest antibiotic series I could
but I need a real Sickbay to
diagnose the source of the infection and reduce her fever. It is very unusual.
Her white blood cells are so
numerous and aggressive they are attacking more than whatever is causing
this. Depending how
successful the treatment I gave her is she might be capable of much more
in few hours. I don't know," she
stated objectively.

"See!" the Empress said out loud for Sarie's benefit and momentarily regaining
the regalness in her voice.
"I am too ill, to make it. You both must hurry and leave me here," she said
imperiously, waving them both
on.

"I told you before, I am not leaving you here," the Captain said strongly.
Nouri believed with all his heart
that he loved her, that his feelings were genuine. He could not leave her.
She was also vital to the peace
process, perhaps the single most important person to make it work. And even
if neither of those were true
he would not leave some stranger to die here in this wretched cave.

He quickly reassessed the situation. The odds were slim of escape but he
could not trust K'Arak and the
other Sandokhans to let them go. They had a chance now to escape and he must
seize it. There was no
other course of action to take. Nouri cast his doubts away and forged ahead.
He smiled encouragingly and
went back to the Empress' side and ignored her wishes.

"Let's go!" he said, energetically.

"Your doctor just said I am too ill to walk anywhere. It's the ritual, making
you think illogically. Go now and leave me," she replied. The Captain still
had no idea of the depth of the effects of the ritual on him and how it was
controlling his feelings. The Empress had the same feelings but the ability
to reason beyond them, knowing more of the Ankhanahkstoi than he did.

"Who said anything about walking," Captain K answered. "Let's go," he repeated,
scooping the Empress into his arms and wrapping her in a blanket to help
keep her warm.

<We now pick up the other reason to name this subseries "Reunions" - the
reunion of the Captain and the
Empress.>